PADUCAH, KY - A well-known corporation and hundreds of jobs are likely coming back to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

In a joint press release from Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and Congressman Ed Whitfield, the legislators confirmed that DOE will exclusively negotiate with GE Hitachi's Nuclear Energy subsidiary, GLE. Pending an agreement, they will invest over $1 billion and create a state-of-the-art laser enrichment facility at the site that will create thousands of construction jobs, and hundreds of permanent jobs.

Their statement said the meeting on Nov. 14 with DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz stressed the importance of Paducah's long-term interests, and that GLE made a commitment to Paducah early on. The plan should save the federal government money, revive the US domestic nuclear supply chain, and generate billions in tax revenues for local, state, and federal government.

McConnell, Paul, and Whitfield said Paducah is a proud city, and they are thrilled GE has placed its confidence in the people of Paducah to host this facility. They said the city has a bright future ahead, and they are genuinely grateful to be a part of it.

Christopher White, Communications Leader for GLE, said that there are still several steps required before construction can start, but they are excited to share the news about negotiations, which should begin soon.

"What we're really doing is looking at things like terms and conditions, and trying to work out and agreement that works both for the company, for the local residents, and for the DOE - for the government," White said.

Since negotiations are just beginning with the DOE, there is currently no timeline for construction or completion of a facility. White also said securing Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for their project could take 2-3 years.

“We are excited about entering exclusive negotiations with the DOE for the Paducah facility and the prospect of tapping into the highly-skilled nuclear workforce in the area,” said Chris Monetta, President and CEO of GLE. “We are equally as excited about potentially playing an important role in securing our nation’s energy future with a reliable, U.S.-based supply of natural uranium for years to come.”

I believe everything everyone is saying about the DOE. Isn't it funny when a government agency avoids the rules of other government agencies? But here is a better idea, just put a frickin lock on the whole place. We see bickering about someone getting half of the $30.00/hr union pay scale. Look around you people. This is Western KY. Not the golden triangle of Lex-Lou-Northern KY. Three quarters of Paducah is run down housing from the 30's-40's-50's and there is so little opportunity here. How many people would give anything for a $15.00/hr job with even a hint of benefits. It the other fact of the matter is that I bet nearly everyone who ever worked at the plant got a job by using influence. That is the only way you can get any decent job in this backwater. Influence is the name of the game. So all you bellyachers that worked out there have had your chances and we know how you got in the door in the first place. So lock it up! Who cares.

im not as smart as you war p or truth 1 ,but I agree with both of you . I just knew what procedures said and that a certain few were not following them . so I immediately started looking out for me and whoever was with me . you wouldn't believe the things some of us saw . had stay times no one followed them ,hows that working out for cheese eaters now. the list goes on . now the rule breakers are going home also and they don't like it . lata appreciates all your rule breaking , now go to 6th street . but wear those union shirts and don't forget to check where you are on overtime list or how much vacation time you got banked up . might need to cash it in .

Truth 1 you can have all the procedures and safety rules in the world and if no one enforces them and the workers won't follow them they aren't worth the paper they are written on. DOE doesn't care what the contractors do, until something go wrong or bad publicity hit's the paper. Then DOE is always quick to assign the blame to the contractor. The fact is DOE wants the contractor to do whatever it takes to get the job done as quickly and cheaply as possible. This is why all the contracts are set up on PBI's and award fees. But the fact is DOE quit monitoring the contractor's for compliance in safety programs and following procedures several years ago. If you don't believe it just look to see how many DOE employees are on site enforcing the rules this says it all. The only time DOE show's up is after the fact and then it is only to assign fault to the Contractor's. As far as building and trades the on going negotiations between GE/Hitachi and DOE will forever restructure how work is done at the PGDP site. USW 550 clean-up days will be no more other than maybe the landfills if they are ever cleaned up.

War P, The building and trades rumor has been on going for years. For what the contractor (LATA) employees were making hourly (32.00hr/Hazard pay), they were being told that "Buildings and Trades" could do it for half the cost, and D.O.E. wouldn't even have to spend money on their benefits, because they get those out of the halls they work for. Every sub contractor (Shaw, API, ETC) that came in under Paducah Remediation Services and LATA did not follow the same procedures that the LATA folks had to...why? Because if a LATA employee was seriously injured or killed...it would have shut the cleanup side down...period. If one of these other contractors that came in to "help" PRS/LATA had an issue with injury/death...DOE could wash their hands on the situation and just blame it on that contractors procedure. As for all the "Rule Breakers" that took chances working around lets say....certain things that was never even supposed to be out there chemical wise and so on will pay for it down the road....with their health. Cutting corners and not following the procedures helped no one gain ground. I figure in 20 or so years there will be some Asbestosis and cancers hit a few of the people that worked for the cleanup crews.....when a PBI was on the line....or a front line manager sweating bullets because of pressure from upper management about missing a supposed "deadline" would start pushing employees to do what it takes to get the job done so the contractor of the moment could make their money and run! you can bet the DOE contractors had a few union workers that were the "go to guys" for saving the day.......who's going to save them from the sickness that hits them a few years down the road?

I think it's cute how when Limbaugh, Hannity, Colter, and Beck use phrases like "Liberal Progressives" all their flunkies jump onboard and use them too. I sure hope Limbaugh doesn't start sagging his pants, exposing his butt crack, because I don't think I could stand seeing a bunch of western Kentucky republicans showing off their plumber's cleavage.

war p . you said it all . worked there for years watching all the illegal crap go down . seems like you seen it first hand also . doe doesn't want union in there anymore . whats jimmy and donnas plan now . what will they do with the rest of the useless cheese eaters out there at lata ?cant wait to see. cheese eaters jimmy and donna have a plan for you . hehehe. go 550 .

Union cleanup workers the Union did you in. The building and trades will now take out all the old equipment. DOE will foot the bill because building and trades will do it for a fraction of the cost. DOE will not enforce the same safety rules and regulations on the building and trades as they did the (LATA)contractor employees. All the local civic leaders will be sitting around like a bunch of buzzards in a tree trying to figure out how to get their hands on all the scrap that can be sold into commerce. Why do you think local agency just hired Fluor to advise them on the scrap issue. The local officials must have had a little insider knowledge. DOE will be more than happy to give them a piece of the pie as they have for many years so the local officials want take issue with any underhanded dealings DOE wants to conduct at Paducah. This includes DOE's failure to clean up the site they have contaminated for 60+ years. DOE will be setting back tooting their horn about how many tons of scrap has been removed while constructing a CERCLA cell to hold all the radioactive waste that cannot be sold into commerce. This waste will be stored in Kentucky forever. Nothing is ever as good as it looks someone always pays a price sorry, LATA workers you are the sheep on the altar.

Whoa, hold on here now. Surely Obama and the EPA/NRC can figure out some way to screw up this deal...perhaps it poses a threat to our new friend, Iran, and thus should be stopped as a good faith gesture. And have we gotten an OK from Putin just yet? But don't worry, at least they'll have health insurance.